Kalkan · Turkey · Wreck · Reef
Sakarya Reef
Teak decking and intact winches on a 1940s wreck in three pieces
A reef rising from deep water off İnce Burun, southeast of Kalkan, with the wreck of the Turkish-built Sakarya lying below it. It is the area's calm-weather dive for intermediate and advanced divers, who look down on the broken hull from above rather than descending to the seabed.
Also known as Sakarya, Sakarya Wreck.
Where it is and how deep
36.2119° N, 29.4122° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef sits in deep water and its ridge rises to within 3–5 m of the surface. A deep crack runs diagonally across the top of the reef, torn open when a ship struck it, and pieces of metal are still wedged inside it.
Divers hold a depth of around 30 to 35 m rather than going down to the bottom. The Sakarya lies below in three sections between 35 and 60 m, with its teak-plank decking, winches and a large cargo of lead ballast still in place. The highest point of the deep wreckage, at 43 m, is where the ship broke, at the corner of the deck and the port side, and in good visibility the whole wreck can be seen from there.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Sakarya
- Type
- Turkish-built ship
- Cause
- Wrecked in the 1940s and broken into three sections
- Lies
- Broken into three sections at depths of 35–60 m below the reef
The Sakarya was built in Turkey and wrecked here in the 1940s, breaking into three sections. It is the newer and larger of two wrecks in the area: nearby lie the mangled remains of the Duchess of York, a North Sea trawler built in Hull in 1893 and apparently scuttled for an insurance payout some time after 1930, in 15 m of water.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Kalkan: The sea warms abruptly in late May or early June and stays warm into November; winter water drops to about 16 °C.
Know before you go
- Penetrating the wreck safely requires trimix.
Dive videos
SAKARYA GEMİSİ (Batık) (1889-1943 Duchess of York) KALKAN / TURKEY by SAKİ UĞURLU · saki uğurlu on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does Sakarya Reef need?+
The wreck's highest point sits at 43 m, so the dive calls for deep training, and most divers view the wreck from around 30 to 35 m. Going inside the hull requires trimix.
Sources
- Kalkan and around — Rough Guides
- Duchess of York - Diving in Kalkan — Wannadive.net
More dive sites in Kalkan
Reef
A short tunnel squeeze through the reef
Reef
Lycian and Ottoman anchors among broken amphora
Wall
Barracuda along a deep wall at the island's south tip
Similar dives elsewhere
A scattered cargo wreck on a reef running from 2 m to 35 m
A small wreck at 22 m reached over rock clusters full of macro
A small boat at 18 m with mast and boxes intact, two more hulls at 27 m
A shallow orange freighter, a 1928 steamer and a Bf 109